Chilogate Stream Restoration Underway near Foothills Parkway

Chilogate Stream Restoration Underway near Foothills Parkway

Monday, December 15, 2014

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have announced that work has begun through the Tennessee Stream Mitigation Program to restore the lower 5,000 feet of Chilogate Creek near the Foothills Parkway and the confluence with Chilhowee Lake. The restoration work will return the stream to its original meandering path which will both enhance riparian wetland habitat as well as reducing the risk of undercutting by the current stream alignment along Happy Valley Road and the Ft. Loudon Utility lines.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to restore Chilogate Creek and the associated wetlands,” said Jeff Troutman, Chief of Resource Management and Science. “Restored streambanks and wetland vegetation will help create a buffer that better filters sediments and improves water quality.”

The project will restore the original stream meander in the lower reaches and repair damaged streambanks on the upper reaches. Wetland communities, rare in the park, will be enhanced through this project providing improved habitat for a variety of species as well as improving water quality. The area includes critical wetland habitat for a state listed plant, Tennessee pondweed (Potamogeton tennesseensis), which is found near Chilogate Creek's confluence with Chilowee Lake. The work will also include removing the invasive, non-native Brazilian water milfoil.

The restoration project should be completed by April 2015. For more information about park wetlands, click here.



Jeff
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A Step Closer to Completing the “Missing Link”

A Step Closer to Completing the “Missing Link”

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park celebrated the completion of Bridge 2 on the Foothills Parkway near Wears Valley, TN with a ribbon cutting event on Monday, June 24. The completion of Bridge 2 marks a significant milestone bringing the park one step closer towards finishing the “missing link,” a 1.65-mile section of the Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley which has been under construction for many years.

Congressman John Duncan, representatives from Congressman Phil Roe and Senator Lamar Alexander, members of the Federal Highways Administration, local government and tourism officials, and government contractors joined National Park Service officials at the head of the 800-foot bridge. After the short celebration ceremony, guests were able to walk the length of the bridge to take in the panoramic views of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“The Foothills Parkway provides a significant connection between a number of east Tennessee communities, two Congressional Districts, and three counties,” said Superintendent, Dale Ditmanson. “We are thankful to all of the government and tourism leaders who were able to join us for our celebration today and who have supported this important project for our park.”

The Foothills Parkway was authorized by Congress in 1944 as a scenic parkway intended to provide picturesque viewing of the Great Smoky Mountains as well as disperse traffic from the heavily used transportation corridors in East Tennessee. Two sections of the Parkway are open extending from Chilhowee, TN to Walland, TN and from Cosby, TN to I-40 and have been open to the public since 1968. The 16 miles of road between Walland, TN and Wears Valley, TN includes “the missing link” and has been partially completed, but never open to the public to use as a true parkway.

The completion of the “missing link” is currently underway as a “multiple bridges project” funded through Title 23, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Federal Lands Transportation Program, and multiple Federal Highways Appropriations awarded at $48,438,000. The final stage of the project will complete the paving and other miscellaneous work needed to open the entire 16 miles of Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley, but remains unfunded at this time. The park aims to have the final paving project completed by the Centennial of the National Park Service in 2016.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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Investigation Underway Into Armed Robbery on Foothills Parkway

Investigation Underway Into Armed Robbery on Foothills Parkway

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

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Rangers and special agents continue to investigate an armed robbery that occurred last Wednesday afternoon on the Foothills Parkway-East.

A man and woman, both from Newport, Tennessee, reported that they were sitting in their vehicle at an overlook when they were confronted by two people dressed in dark clothing and wearing ski masks. One of them assaulted the man by spraying him with pepper spray and hitting him on the head with a silver colored handgun. They then took the victim's 2004 maroon Nissan sedan and drove east on the parkway towards I-40.

A park employee came across the victims a short while after the attack and reported the incident. Cocke County deputies and rangers responded and recovered the car, which had been abandoned along the parkway. A search of the area, with the assistance of a sheriff's department search dog, resulted in the recovery of clothing articles and other forensic evidence believed to belong to the suspects.

The man was taken by ambulance to Newport Medical Center, where he was treated and released. Park investigators do not believe this was a random crime against a park visitor – it appears that the victims may have been specifically targeted. Park officials are asking anyone with information concerning the incident to call park investigators at 828-497-1936.


Jeff
Hiking Trails in the Smokies

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Look Rock Observation Tower to Close for Construction

Look Rock Observation Tower to Close for Construction

Sunday, April 29, 2012

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Managers at Great Smoky Mountain National Park have announced that Look Rock Tower and the access trail will be closed May 1st and 2nd, and May 10th and 11th, in order to complete the final steps of a radio installation project.

Look Rock is located off the Foothills Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

During the closure period, installation of a new radio repeater will be completed by the Blount County Sheriff’s Office in order to upgrade the radio communications available to Blount County Sheriff’s Office and local Emergency Management Services. The work will also involve the grading and paving of the trail and access drive.

In addition to its role as a public observation tower, the Look Rock Tower hosts an Air Quality monitoring site, and houses radio repeaters serving the Park, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, Ft. Loudon Electric Cooperative, and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Smokies Announces Extensive Vista Clearing Project

Smokies Announces Extensive Vista Clearing Project

Thursday, March 22, 2012

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Whenever the National Park Service has surveyed visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park about their planned activities while in the Park, the number one response has always been "viewing scenery - scenic views." Over the years the number and quality of those scenic viewpoints along Park roads has gradually declined. When Park roads were constructed, the forests had been extensively logged and often burned in pre-Park days, leaving unobstructed views in every direction, but 75 years of forest recovery has resulted in many of the scenic overlooks becoming obscured by maturing trees.

Over the next few months a Park contractor will be rolling back this "natural clock" by reopening 34 of the most popular roadside vistas along the Park's main roads. Park officials say that this will be the first major vista-clearing initiative in decades.

Acting Park Facility Manager, Charlie Sellars said, "We have developed specific clearing prescriptions for every one of the 34 overlooks scheduled for treatment. In each case we will have a Park staff person assigned to guide the contractor in determining which trees should be removed entirely and which will be trimmed or thinned."

The Park's goal in renewing its vista management program is to allow the views to be maintained on a seven year cycle. To achieve this, the contractor will apply herbicides to the stumps of the taller-growing tree species to prevent their re-sprouting. At the same time, they will be leaving the lower-growing or shrubby species, like rhododendron and mountain laurel, un-cut, so that eventually these low-growing native species will shade out and discourage the re-growth of the taller trees with less work by Park crews.

Motorists can expect to see vista management under way from April 1 through August 1 along Newfound Gap Road, Clingmans Dome Road, the East and West Foothills Parkway, the Gatlinburg Bypass, Rich Mountain Road, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Lakeview Drive and Cataloochee Road. No roads are expected to be closed to complete the work, but the overlooks being cleared will be closed as needed to accomplish the work safely.

This sounds like great news to me. Looking forward to the improvements!


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Look Rock Observation Tower to Close for Construction

Look Rock Observation Tower to Close for Construction

Friday, February 24, 2012

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Managers at Great Smoky Mountain National Park have announced that the observation tower at Look Rock on the Foothills Parkway in Blount County, TN will be closed for construction work from Monday, February 27 through Friday, March 23.

During the closure period a new radio repeater will be installed by the Blount County Sheriff’s Office to upgrade the radio communications available to Blount County Sheriff’s Office and local Emergency Management Services. The paved trail that leads from the Look Rock Parking area to the Tower is also closed at its entrance off the Parkway.

In addition to its role as a public observation tower, the Look Rock Tower hosts an Air Quality monitoring site, and houses radio repeaters serving the Park, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, Ft. Loudon Electric Cooperative, and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Construction Worker Injured On Foothills Parkway Project

Construction Worker Injured On Foothills Parkway Project

Friday, March 18, 2011

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This morning's NPS Digest is reporting that a construction worker was injured on Wednesday while working on the Foothills Parkway Project.

NPS reports that Jesse Lee Powell, 23, of Bessemer City, North Carolina, was struck by a rock - measuring approximately four feet by two feet by two feet - that rolled about 20 feet down a steep slope and landed on him. Powell was clearing brush from the right-of-way along a section of the Foothills Parkway, which is under construction about ten miles east of Walland in Blount County.

Powell was stabilized and lowered about 20 feet, then carried to a Rural Metro Ambulance. He was subsequently transferred to a Lifestar helicopter, which flew him to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he was treated for minor injuries and released.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Construction on Foothills Parkway

Construction on Foothills Parkway

Monday, November 9, 2009

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Park officials are advising hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders to be on the lookout for construction vehicles on a 9-mile unopened portion of the Foothills Parkway beginning this Thursday, November 12th.

Although seldom used by motorized vehicles, the stretch of gravel road east of Walland, TN is popular with outdoorsmen.

Construction work will go on Monday through Friday for six weeks ending December 22, while a Park contractor does some core drilling at the far eastern end of the roadway.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Section of Foothills Parkway Re-opens to Recreational Use

Section of Foothills Parkway Re-opens to Recreational Use

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

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Managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced yesterday that the section of the un-completed Foothills Parkway extending west from Wears Valley Road has been re-opened to non-motorized recreational use.

Kevin FitzGerald, Deputy Superintendent at the Smokies said, "Now that construction activity has been completed for the time being, we welcome the public to hike, ride their bikes or bring their horses onto both sections of the un-finished Parkway. People can go in either from Wears Valley and travel about 4 miles to the dead-end at the Missing Link or they can come in at the Walland end and travel over 9 miles before they have to turn around. The 1.25 miles of the Missing Link between the two partly finished sections is very rugged and overgrown and is closed to horses and bikes and not recommended to hikers."

The park expects to close both sections again when construction resumes: next spring on the Walland end, and sometime in the summer or fall of 2010 on the Wears Valley segment.

Smoky Mountain Rental Cabins


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Foothills Parkway Missing Link Open for Weekend

Foothills Parkway Missing Link Open for Weekend

Friday, October 10, 2008

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in cooperation with volunteers of the Blount County Experience Your Smokies and the Blount County Sheriff's Office, will temporarily open to traffic the unfinished section of the Foothills Parkway in Blount County from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 18-19.

Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson said, "People will be able to enjoy spectacular scenery along this 9.5 mile portion of the Foothills Parkway, part of a 72 mile right-of-way concept that parallels the northern boundary of the national park. We are pleased to open this scenic roadway again this autumn, providing an alternate drive for observing leaf color displays. Last spring when we opened it for public viewing, 8,000 people came to drive the route and thoroughly enjoyed the vistas."

"Unlike the spring Open House when we encouraged visitors to park at the end of the road to check out the views from the end, this opening period will be primarily a 'windshield tour'," Ditmanson said. "Parking at the end of the road is so limited that trying to accommodate parking with even heavier fall visitation would create gridlock, so motorists will be turned around at the end without stopping," he continued.

The segment that is being opened has a gravel surface with no guardrails, striping or signs and dead- ends at the "Missing Link." The "Missing Link" is a 1.5 mile stretch of extremely rugged terrain which is situated almost in the middle of two partially- completed portions of Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley.

Motorists will enter the area via the Foothills Parkway interchange off U.S. 321 between Maryville and Townsend (about 11 miles south of Maryville). Hikers and bicyclists will also have access to the area, but horseback riders are prohibited during this period when motorists are traveling the road.

Currently, only two discontinuous segments of the Parkway are completed and open: 16.9 miles from Walland to Chilhowee Lake in Blount County and a 5.6 mile portion from Cosby to I-40 in Cocke County.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

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